Books by series
The Valdemar books can be broken down into different series, and some are standalone books. This is a summary of the various books and how they fall into each series, listed in the chronological order of the overall storyline. The books span approximately 3000 years of history. The year after each title indicates the year of original publication of each individual book. Mage Wars These are set in pre-history, some 2000–3000 years earlier. They describe the events which set off The Mage Storms. It involves gryphons, creatures created by the mage Urtho (Mage of Silence). Co-protagonists are Skandranon Rashkae, a princely but proud ebony gryphon, and Amberdrake, a Healer of spirit and mind called a kestra'chern. *Black Gryphon (1994) *White Gryphon (1995) *Silver Gryphon (1996) Collegium Chronicles Series marking Lackey's novel-length return to Valdemar after a 5-year hiatus. Covers the founding of the Heralds' Collegium. * Foundation (2008) The Last Herald Mage These occur some centuries before the Heralds of Valdemar books, telling the life story of Vanyel Ashkevron; by the time of the "later" books he has become legend, thus explaining some of the small inconsistencies. *Magic's Pawn (1989) *Magic's Promise (1990) *Magic's Price (1991) The Tale of Lavan Firestorm This is a stand-alone novel, set somewhere between The Last Herald Mage and the Heralds books; it describes another legendary character briefly referred to in the latter, Lavan Firestorm. *Brightly Burning (2000) Vows and Honor These precede the Heralds of Valdemar books, centering on the characters Tarma and Kethry. These characters appeared first in Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series) and were revisited in subsequent short stories. Two of these short stories are woven into the Vows and Honor books as part of a longer narrative. The original Vows and Honor pair of books were linked together with By the Sword (published long before Oathblood) as a trilogy. The third volume, Oathblood, is made up entirely of short stories in place of a longer narrative. With its publication, nearly all of the Tarma and Kethry stories were available together in a single compiled volume for the first time. *Oathbound (1989) *Oathbreakers (1989) *Oathblood (1998) Heralds of Valdemar Prequels The Exile books focus on Weaponsmaster Alberich, his choosing and the Tedrel Wars. *Exile's Honor (2002) *Exile's Valor (2003) The story of Skif's choosing and becoming a Herald. *Take a Thief (2001) Original series These centre on the character Talia, who from the moment of being Chosen by her Companion Rolan becomes the very special and hard-working Queen's Own Herald. *Arrows of the Queen (1987) *Arrow's Flight (1987) *Arrow's Fall (1988) Kerowyn's Tale This is a stand-alone novel which connects the Vows & Honor sub-series to the Heralds and other trilogies; it introduces the character Kerowyn who features therein. Kerowyn is the granddaughter of Kethry from the Vows and Honor sub-series. *By the Sword (1991) Mage Winds These follow on from the original Heralds of Valdemar trilogy, centering on Princess Elspeth completing her transformation from "the Brat" to a fully-fledged Herald. Secondary protagonists include Skif and a new character Darkwind. *Winds of Fate (1991) *Winds of Change (1992) *Winds of Fire (1993) Mage Storms These follow on again, centering on the characters Karal and An'desha as Velgarth is threatened by a repetition of the Cataclysm described in The Mage Wars trilogy. This trilogy also focuses on the threat posed to Valdemar by the vast Eastern Empire and the development of the newly-formed Alliance between Valdemar and its surrounding nations. *Storm Warning (1994) *Storm Rising (1995) *Storm Breaking (1996) Darian's Tale The Owl trilogy takes place several years after the events of The Mage Storms, and follows the character Darian. The story focuses on the repercussions of the mage storms on Valdemar's northern border, and centers on new tensions between the kingdom and invading barbarians from beyond the Ice Wall. *Owlflight (1997) *Owlsight (1998) *Owlknight (1999) Anthologies *Sword of Ice and Other Tales of Valdemar (1997) *Sun in Glory and Other Tales of Valdemar (2003) *Crossroads and Other Tales of Valdemar (2005) *Moving Targets and Other Tales of Valdemar (2008) *Changing the World: All-New Tales of Valdemar (2009)